Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins

Directed By: Brian Levant

Starring: Nick Palatas, Robbie Amell, Hayley Kiyoko, Kate Melton, Frank Welker (Voice), Shawn MacDonald, Gary Chalk

Studio: Warner Bros. Year: 2009 Rated: PG Film Length:  82 minutes Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portugese, and Thai Release Date: September 22, 2009

The Film **½

In Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins we see how the now famous Scooby gang first came together.  When misfit Coolsville, Ohio high school student Norville "Shaggy" Rogers (Palatas) inadvertently kicks off a melee when trying to sneak his recently adopted, unusually conversant, dog Scoobert "Scooby" Doo (CG creation with voice of Frank Welker) onto his school bus, he finds himself unjustly assigned to detention with star athlete Fred Jones (Amell), Science Club whiz Velma Dinkley (Kiyoko), and Drama Club queen Daphne Blake (Melton).   Fred, Velma, and Daphne discover that they have a mutual fondness for mysteries almost as strong as Shaggy and Scooby's mutual fondness for food.  During their detention period, Coolsville High is attacked by a pair of ghosts who appear to be the founders of the original Coolsville Academy which was built on the site now occupied by the High School.  Strict Vice Principle Grimes (Chalk) is convinced that the kids from detention are responsible for the mayhem despite the objections of the more reasonable Principle Deedle (MacDonald).  The kids decide to band together to try to clear their names and solve the mystery of the Coolsville ghosts.

This made for television live action film originally premeired on the Cartoon Network cable channel on September 13th, 2009 and is being released on DVD only nine days later.   This is the third feature length live action adaptation of the improbably durable 40 year old "Scooby-Doo" franchise, following theatrically released films in  2002 and 2004.  

The low budget seams of this made-for TV production are frequently showing, particularly in the CG interpretation of its title character.  While the CG Scooby animation of the theatrical films left something to be desired, the version we see here appears even rougher, less integrated with his environments, and does not even get a decent walk cycle (I swear that some of his scenes look like they were motion captured from a human walking on all fours).

While attempts to present younger versions of popular cartoon characters to reinvigorate a creaky franchise have been around for ages and may or may not have been the reason for the invention of the word "nadir",  Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, was not quite the disaster that I anticipated.  In many ways, the restraint shown, whether voluntary or due to the limited budget, results in a mystery story that is more reminiscent of the 1960s cartoons that established the franchise and less assaultive on the senses than either of its theatrical predecessors.  While it does indulge in some of the bad habits of those films (Exhibit A: Random, unnnecessary, uncreative fart joke), it is comparatively restrained (there is only one Exhibit A, and it does not go on for more than a minute or so), and avoids winking at the audience as if to suggest that the filmmakers are too cool for the material.

The cast, while less famous, is no worse than that of its theatrical predecessors, although Nick Palatas' teenage Shaggy at times gives off an eerily unwelcome "Dustin Diamond as Screech on Saved by the Bell" vibe.  While the writing will never be mistaken for theatrical feature quality, the likeable cast and solid execution of its basic mystery story mechanics (lots of red herrings, early set-ups with late pay-offs, enough clues that viewers paying close attantion can figure out what is happening themselves, etc.) insure that Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins can at least provide some solid if undemanding entertainment for younger viewers and older die-hard fans of the cartoon franchise.

The Video ***½

The video presentation fills the entire 16:9 enhanced screen. Contrast is a bit on the soft side, possibly to try to enhance detail in some of the numerous "day for night" shots, and MPEG mosquito noise appears too frequently for my taste, especially around high contrast edges.

The Audio ***½

Sound is provided via an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track encoded at 384kbps.  It is a very front channel focused mix typical of a lot of made for TV productions that would not sound much different folded down to stereo than it does in a full 5.1 presentation.  No obvious problems with fidelity are apparent, and a generous helping of alternate language dubs are provided with Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in French, Spanish, and Portuguese and a Dolby Digital 2.0 track in Thai.

The Extras *½

When the disc is first spun-up, the viewer is greeted with a series of promos presented in 4:3 video, letterboxed when appropriate, with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio unless otherwise indicated below:

• Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DTV Trailer(1:03)
• kidswb.com web site promo(:32)
• Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo DTV Trailer (:28)

Proper extras consist of a series of brief featurettes and interactive games presented in16:9 enhanced video with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound unless othewrise indicated below:

Scooby-Doo: Coolsvile High Video Yearbook (4:38) Daphne, Velma, Fred, and Shaggy offer biographical details about themselves with the actors in character.

Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Inc. Personality Quiz is an interactive feature in which the viewer answers a series of multiple choice questions and then is rewarded with a brief video clip from the character that they are determined to be most like based on their answers.

Cast Time Capsule: Fun on the Set (6:35) Is a montage of on-set handheld video footage of the actors and crew goofing off with each other and the camera operator.

Gag Reel (4:3 letterboxed video - 6:09) is a montage of outtakes from the film where actors flub lines and make other mistakes.  The mistakes are not all that entertaining, even compared to the low standards of most such features.

"You and I" Music Video by Anarbor (4:3 Letterboxed - 3:10) mixes footage of the pop-rock band miming their song on stage mixed with clips from the film and some goofing around with ghosts, spooky sets, and costumes by the  band members.  As with most of the featurettes above, it is not the kind of special feature a viewer is likely to watch more than once.

A collection of Trailers (8:15 w/Play All) in addition to the disc start-up promos is also presented. All are in 4:3 full frame video with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio unless therwise indicated below:

• Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword Animated DTV Trailer (4:3 Letterboxed - :55)
• Scooby-Doo Where Are You? Volumes Two and Three DVD Trailer (1:03)
• Zoinks Points Promo for Scooby-Doo online  program with purchase of Scooby Doo merchandise (1:01)
• Gremlins Deluxe Edition Trailer (Actually just a theatrical trailer) (2:06)
• Willy Wonka on Blu-Ray Trailer (2:05)
• Scooby-Doo! First Frights Wii Game Trailer (1:02)

Packaging

The disc is packaged in a standard sized "Eco-Box" case with holes in the hard case to reduce plastic use.  The interior of the case has a paper insert with information about  the "Zoinks Points" online promo and the web sites associated with the film and Scooby Doo! in general.  It also includes an ad for Amtrak on the back.  The hard case is, in turn, placed inside a cardboard slipcover that duplicates the art on the exterior insert with the addition of foil enhancements.

Summary**½

Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins is a tolerable if slight live action adaptation of the popular cartoon series that tells a prequel/origin story of how the "Scooby Gang" met and tackled their first mystery.  Its low budget seams occasionally show and the writing does not transcend its made for kids TV origins.  That being said, it still comes closer in spirit to the original cartoon than either of the previous comparatively big budget theatrical realizations of the franchise.  It is presented on DVD with middling video quality and an unambitious but serviceable 5.1 sound mix.  Kid-oriented extras are substantial in number but shallow in depth.